Summit County Named Silver-Level Bicycle Friendly Community

SUMMIT COUNTY – The League of American Bicyclists recognized Summit County this week with a silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award, joining 372 such communities from across the country. With the announcement of 34 new and renewing BFCs on May 18, Summit County solidified its place among a group of leading communities in all 50 states that are transforming neighborhoods to be safer, more enjoyable places to ride.

“We applaud these communities for making bicycling a safe and convenient option for transportation and recreation,” said Bill Nesper, vice president of programs at the League of American Bicyclists. “We are encouraged by the growing number of leaders who see bicycling as a way to build more vibrant, healthy, sustainable and connected communities and be a part of the solution to many complex challenges faced at both the community and national levels. We look forward to continuing to work with these communities as we move closer to our mission of creating a bicycle-friendly America for everyone.”

The BFC program encourages communities to evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while helping them benchmark progress toward improving bicycle-friendliness. With this latest round, there are now 372 BFCs across the country. The silver-level BFC award recognizes Summit County’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, educational programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.

Summit County was awarded bronze-level BFC status in 2012. Improvements since that time, which helped move Summit to the silver level, include construction of the Dillon Valley bicycle/pedestrian lanes, Phase 1 of the Summit Cove Loop Project, Keystone Recpath improvements and the Tenmile Recpath Extension. Other key bicycle-friendly projects include the Hoosier Pass Feasibility Study, continued planning on Fremont Pass, installment of mileage markers and informational kiosks throughout the entire Recpath system, and various natural-surface-trail construction and improvement efforts.

“We’re excited and honored that our extensive efforts to improve bicycling in Summit County have been recognized,” Summit County Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier said. “That said, we’re not resting on our laurels. We have other plans and projects in the works, and we hope to achieve gold-level designation by 2020.”

The BFC program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community, and the application itself has become a rigorous and educational tool. Since its inception, more than 1,200 distinct communities have applied, and the five levels of the award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze – incentivize communities to continuously improve. To apply or learn more about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community.